How well did Columbia fence in the 2013 Ivy League Championships, which concluded Sunday?

The women's team took to the fencing strips for 162 individual bouts, and won 109, a cool 67%. The men fought 135 bouts, capturing 84, for 62%.

Those victories gave both teams second places in the final Ivy League standings, the women trailing only defending champion Princeton, the men in a three-way tie for second with the Tigers and Penn, just behind Harvard. The combined second-places by the two Lion teams were Columbia's best since the 2009 squads also netted two seconds.

And first place, the target of both the men and women this winter? Very close, particularly for the men's team.

"Our men had eight losses by one-touch margins against Princeton in a 16-11 loss," head coach Michael Aufrichtig noted after combing through the score sheets, "and just one one-touch win. If we had just won three more one-touch bouts, we would have won.

"We had five one-touch losses against Harvard, in a 15-12 defeat. If we win two more one-touch bouts, we beat Harvard, too."

Columbia got off to good starts in most of its matches, doing well in the first rounds of the three-round matches. But against Princeton, the second round proved decisive, as the Tigers overcame first-round Columbia successes to gain solid margins.

As Michael Josephs said, "We put ourselves in a hole, too big to dig out of."

And while the Lions fought back fiercely to gain regain advantages in the third rounds, their lack of Ivy League experience hurt their chances.

The pressure and intensity increased markedly in the third rounds of matches, exemplified by the crescendo of vocal support from teammates, which echoed off Gordon Track's roof and walls.

Sophomore epeeist Natalie Gegan, appearing in her first Ivy championship, could not help but notice it.

"We really wanted to win today," she said, "but it's a lot easier if you have done it once [before]. I think Princeton fought harder at the end of our match, and we started getting emotional."

Nevertheless, Columbia continued to fence with spirit and skill. As a result, 12 Lions were first or second team All-Ivy League, determined strictly by won-lost records.

Four women and three men earned first-team honors, including three Ivy League "rookies" -- Jackie Dubrovich and Margaret Lu in women's foil, and Brian Ro in men's epee. Sophomore Olympian Nzingha Prescod also made first team in women's foil, while Hadzic and sophomore sabre fencer Will Spear each earned their second first-team slot.

Columbia next competes in the NCAA Northeast Regional, Sunday, March 10 at St. John's. The competition, which helps to determine qualifiers for the NCAA Championships, begins at 10 a.m.
2013 ALL-IVY LEAGUE (Columbia only)